How Emily Henry writes: "Frankly, I hate sitting in chairs"

I share a publication date with romance novelist Emily Henry. To celebrate, we had a chat! (Table For One and Great Big Beautiful Life are out now in the UK!)

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HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY TO ME AND EMILY HENRY! To celebrate, we thought it would be fun to publish a conversation between us.

Table For One and Great Big Beautiful Life are out today.

Emily Henry is a phenomenon in the publishing world. A New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies, her books (Beach Read, You & Me on Vacation, Book Lovers, Happy Place, and Funny Story) have sold millions and every book is currently “in development” (in the process of being adapted for screen.) Great Big Beautiful Life is her latest.

We chatted about her writing process, her creative life and how she continues to make space to actually write when she keeps getting pulled in different directions. Plus where she writes (spoiler: not in a chair!), what she’d change about the publishing industry, her boundaries online, what she’s currently reading, about the importance of having author buddies, oh and what it’s like blowing up on TikTok when you’re not actually on there yourself. (I also had to ask about her favourite table for one, of course.)

(I’m also grateful for Emily’s recent posts standing up to Meta: “I’m not sure how long I can justify using this app” she said recently about Instagram, and how Meta has stolen authors books to train AI—and instead directs people towards her brilliant Substack

Emily’s Grocery List

).

Enjoy!

(Great Big Beautiful Life and Table For One are both published TODAY! Please support our books if you feel inclined!)

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The conversation

EMMA: Hi Emily! There are so many cliche buzzwords to describe certain genres of books. How would you describe the books you write, in your own words?

EMILY: Lately, I say, “sad books about funny people, with happy endings.” I don’t actually think of them as sad myself, maybe more like "bittersweet," but a lot of readers tell me they cry, so that's how I've been simplifying it. You can also just call them romantic comedies.

EMMA: Congrats on the new novel! We share a publication date. Where did the idea for Great Big Beautiful Life come from? For me, I wrote a paragraph involving two of the characters one night and then put it in a drawer for a bit. Did any particular parts come to you first?

EMILY: It's hard to talk about this without spoilers because, truthfully, the end of the book came to me first. Everything else was written to get to that point. I will say, separately though, that I have always been fascinated by legendary families—the kind who stay in the press or in the history books for generations—and the way that both that privilege and that mantle seem to be passed down. I wanted to write about legacy and how it both bolsters and complicates love.

EMMA: What’s one thing you wish you’d known when you published your first piece of fiction back in 2016?

EMILY: Oh, there's so much. But who knows how knowing those things might have changed my path? I do wish I could have enjoyed the feeling of writing before publishing a little more. A lot of my author friends and I bemoan that while you're striving so desperately to get your work out there, you can't really appreciate the joy that comes from writing just for you, without a thousand other voices in your head.

EMMA: Getting a book adapted for the screen is surely every author's dream? Give us one thing that has surprised you in a positive way?

EMILY: Well, I guess first off, I should say that it wasn't necessarily my dream. Writing the books and having people read them was (and still is) the dream for me. Now I've added "writing a movie that people actually see" to the dream list, but having my work adapted by someone else is more of just a really, really cool extra thing. The adaptations aren’t "my baby" in the way that the books are, which is both the exciting and nerve-wracking thing about the process. It’s been so cool in so many ways to see a different incarnation of the story come to life, but one thing that’s really surprised and delighted me is seeing how thoughtful and intentional the set designers and costumers were—the designers really understood the characters in all their many iterations throughout the years and made so many smart, conscious decisions that blew me away.

EMMA: And any challenges during the process?

EMILY: There were plenty of challenges too, of course. You have to get so, so, so many yeses at so many stages, and every time there’s a no, it feels like the project is falling apart. There were so many moments when I thought this first film was dead, and then suddenly, it was green lit, and things moved unbelievably fast at that point.

EMMA: Can’t wait to watch. What do you love about the publishing industry, and what do you wish would change or improve?

EMILY: Well, there are a whole lot of caveats here because I don’t know everyone in publishing or everyone’s experience, of course, but I would say that 99% of the people I’ve interacted with are kind. They also actually love books and reading!

So there’s this feeling that you’re always among friends because, if nothing else, we all love reading. But there’s tons of room for improvement in the industry, especially regarding diversity and equity. Publishing (not in terms of who works in publishing and whose work gets published, but in whose work gets big marketing and publicity pushes, etc.) is still remarkably white. There’s been some progress in recent years, but there’s still a long way to go.

EMMA: You’re big on BookTok. What’s the vibe there?

EMILY: Well, I’m not on TikTok, but I and my books have definitely benefited from it. So my thoughts come at a remove, but I will say, I love how reader-driven it is.

When it first started really blowing up, with BookTok sending backlist titles soaring onto the bestseller lists, a lot of publishers scrambled to try to figure out how to harness the power of this new thing, and I don’t think it really worked because people don’t just want commercials from someone with a vested interest in how a book sells; they want to hear from actual readers, with no ulterior motive, sharing why they love something. I just love that it seems to have reintroduced a ton of people to reading who either haven’t ever been that into it or haven’t made time for it in years. I think that’s really special.

EMMA: I went into an indie bookstore lately and the bookseller there was telling me that BookTok had totally revitalised their business. I’ve never really been on TikTok myself but like the idea of the Internet increasing a book’s lifespan without the author necessarily needing to do the pedalling. I’m fascinated that your Substack “Emily’s Grocery List” has over 100k subscribers, but you don’t have the comments or likes switched on. Do you recommend this setup to maintain boundaries?

Emily: I think it’s totally up to what you’re comfortable with and what you enjoy! But if you have a hard time drowning out other voices and are trying to spend less time on social media in general, I for sure recommend this approach.

EMMA: Occasionally I get distracted by shiny invitations and fun stuff and then realise I actually need to sit down and do my job (i.e. write!!). How do you protect your time as an author so that you actually have time to write?

EMILY: This has been one of the biggest struggles of the last few years! The truth is, I don’t have a great system other than “the writing comes first.”

I try to say yes to as many cool opportunities as I can, but I’m slowly getting better at saying no and at anticipating how much time I’ve already booked up because a lot of the little administrative and publicity tasks that come with being a writer seem small in isolation, but when you add them up, they can take up quite a chunk of time..

So I’m working on all of that, but like I said, when I’m writing, that comes first. Everything else falls off. Things fall through the cracks. My house becomes disgusting. My hair is unwashed. I’m only eating microwaved meals. I sadly cannot do it all and make it look easy. I can’t do it all, period.

EMMA: I would love to know where you write? What’s your setup? Desk, laptop? Do you write on the move, etc.?

EMILY: Lying down on a couch mostly. I’m such a lounger, and frankly, I hate sitting in chairs.

EMMA: What are you reading at the moment?

EMILY: I just finished an unpublished novel that’s going to be huge, and I can’t wait to tell everyone all about it. But as it’s a long way off, I’ll focus instead on the fact that I recently finished Jasmine Guillory’s Flirting Lessons (loved it so much) and am about to start Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere, with great trepidation for how I know she’s going to break my heart.

EMMA: Who’s your biggest inspiration?

EMILY: Oh, that’s a good one. From a craft perspective, probably Nora Ephron. From a “life/career approach,” I will actually shout out Taylor Jenkins Reid again, who is not only phenomenally talented but has remained down-to-earth, kind, grounded, and purposeful in her pursuit of making beautiful art.

EMMA: Oh I love Taylor Jenkins Reid too! I interviewed her years ago in LA and her kindness just oozed out. How do you switch off and fill up your cup in your downtime?

EMILY: Real Housewives is how I switch off. And Traitors now too! I fill my cup mostly just by spending time with friends and traveling when I can.

EMMA: Do you have author friends? Are they important to you?

EMILY: I do, and YES. They are indispensable. I didn’t have them when I started out, so the good news is, if that’s you, reading this right now, you don’t need to worry. Weirdly, you find each other over the years. It’s wonderful to be able to talk about writing stuff with people who get it—and maybe even more wonderful to not talk about writing stuff with people who get it.

EMMA: Any advice for someone reading this who might be working on a novel for the first time?

EMILY: Finish it! Even if you think it’s horrible. Even if you don’t know where it’s going. Make yourself finish a first draft. Because once you’ve proven to yourself you can do that, you can do it again and again and again.

“Finish it! Even if you think it’s horrible. Make yourself finish a first draft.”

EMMA: What’s your favourite ‘table for one’ to eat/write solo?

EMILY: Oooh, when I’m writing, I’m usually just eating yogurt and Clif bars and whatever quick and easy thing I can grab from my cupboard that pairs well with espresso. But in my fantasies, I would write on a patio with pasta and a big Aperol Spritz.

EMMA: Thanks Emily, I know you’re mega busy. It’s been fun to chat with you. <3

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GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry is out now.
Published by Viking Books.

TABLE FOR ONE by Emma Gannon is out now.
Published by Harper Collins.

HAPPY PLACE is going to be a series on Netflix.